chanson keb franco / Drum & Bass / Électronique / Footwork / Ghettotech / jungle / Pop / Synth-Pop

POP Montreal | And God Created Virginie B

by Alain Brunet

Nearly an hour spent Thursday evening with Virginie B at the Belmont imposes this testimony of approval.

The singer attracts attention for her extravagant and (very) sexy outfits, her infectious lasciviousness and her ability to throw herself all over the place in front of an audience. Virginie B has the talent to surround herself with excellent musicians, and her artistic direction is fine, enlightened and visionary in a pop context.

A backdrop of a circular screen, highly competent musicians, a genuine stage beast, a talented frontwoman who soon made us forget the relative tenuity of her vocal organ, reminiscent of feminine French pop.

Their musical influences, however, have little to do with the pop of their cousins, drawing instead on Flying Lotus and all those LA jazz funksters converted to hip-hop à la J Dilla. Virginie B is also inspired by the frenetic grooves of footwork and ghettotech in the USA and (less) jungle/drum’n’bass in the UK.

His soul-pop tunes and penchant for easy-listening soften these pointed references, while the lyrics (mostly) written in good-natured Quebecois French create a certain familiarity and certainly raise the level of our local pop.

As we saw after the release of her album Insula (2022), Virginie B has great taste. Because she knows how to put her sharp sense of pop culture to good use. Because she also knows how to build her own whimsical, sensual persona, with just the right touch of self-mockery.

In short, she puts on quite a show!

The 100-euro question then comes to mind: will Virginie B break into the European market and increase her fan base tenfold? Let’s hope so, because the album Astral 2000, just released by Bonsound, is in no way inferior to any production of its kind beyond our borders… and extremely rare in the French pop world.

Publicité panam

Latest 360 Content

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

LMNL – Rainbow

LMNL – Rainbow

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Galan Trio – Embrace

Galan Trio – Embrace

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Hypercube – The Force for Good

Hypercube – The Force for Good

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

Duo AYA – Cycles

Duo AYA – Cycles

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Samuel Bonnet Trio – Live in Harmony

Samuel Bonnet Trio – Live in Harmony

Subscribe to our newsletter